Our Team
Roseline Cristanelli, Broker/Owner/Founder
Growing up in an Air-Force military village in Taiwan, Roseline came to United States for graduate school in Albany, New York, with two suitcases in 1992. She knew no one and barely spoke English.
For the next two decades, she had a successful career as a librarian in public libraries and community colleges, and made Tempe, Arizona, her home, before starting a family and an adventure in real estate eleven years ago.
As a transplant, she is deeply in tune with our relationship with places; she knows how liberating it can be to put down roots and to have a sanctuary where you are free to not only be yourself, but be a part of the greater community.
As the broker, owner, and founder of Reliance First Realty, Roseline models the brokerage after her vision and sets the company’s service standards. In the last five years, her business has been 100% referral based, mostly from past clients.
Roseline either holds or has held the following real estate designations or certifications:
Certified Residential Specialist (from Residential Real Estate Council)
Certified Risk Management Specialist (from Arizona Association of REALTORS)
Certified Aging-In-Place Specialist (form National Association of Homebuilders)
Certified New Home Sales Professional (from National Association of Homebuilders)
Resort and Second-Home Properties Specialist (National Association of REALTORS)
Senior Real Estate Specialist (National Association of REALTORS)
Graduate, Real Estate Institute (National Association of REALTORS)
Master Certified Negotiation Expert (Real Estate Negotiation Institute)
Accredited Staging Professional (by Stagedhomes.com)
Accredited Buyer Representative (by Real Estate Business Institute
Green Designation (by Real Estate Business Institute)
She is also a graduate of Tempe Leadership Class XXIX and Phoenix Public Library Leadership Academy.
In addition to her work at Reliance First, Roseline serves as a trustee and the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee chair for Childsplay, a professional theater for young audience in Tempe, AZ. She volunteers for Tempe Cares, an annual community beautification volunteer event, as its sustenance coordinator, and for Greater Phoenix SCORE. She is a member of Association of REALTORS’s Grievance Committee and Kiwanis Club of Tempe.
In addition to English, Roseline is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.
Tony Cristanelli, Property Manager and Client Services
Tony brings a wealth of experience and knowledge in startups, marketing, finance, and construction to Reliance First Realty. He is the perfect property manager for your real estate investment.
Growing up in Colorado, Tony received his degree in chemical engineering from Colorado University in Boulder and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in Chicago. His series of jobs in tech sent him around the world in the 80s and 90s to seventy-eight countries (many no longer exist) before he finally settled down in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Bored from early retirement, he went to work for an emergency service provider and relocated to Arizona.
He joined Reliance First Realty in 2020 and specializes in property management.
An avid reader, Tony is fluent in Italian, Spanish, French, Serbian, Russian, Romanian, and Polish, and somewhat proficient in Thai, Korean and Japanese. When he is not working in real estate or doing accounting, he likes gardening, cooking and playing strategy games, and he dreams of restoring his 1968 Ford Mustang with his son soon. Occasionally he volunteers with his wife and introduces himself as Roseline’s arm candy.
John Kennedy, Marketing Associate
Born and raised in Phoenix, John is a multi-disciplinary creative currently working in the entertainment industry. Before launching his artistic career, John studied at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadea, CA.
John was Reliance First’s first employee and has been working with Roseline for nearly 28(!) years.
While off the clock, John enjoys burritos, creating art, and a long trek up a mountainside.